Clinicopathological Characteristics and Recurrence-Free Survival of Rare Variants of Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas in Korea: A Retrospective Study

• Published in: Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul) Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 619 - 627
• Main Authors: Kim, Mijin, Cho, Sun Wook, Park, Young Joo, Ahn, Hwa Young, Kim, Hee Sung, Suh, Yong Joon, Choi, Dughyun, Kim, Bu Kyung, Yang, Go Eun, Park, Il-Seok, Yi, Ka Hee, Jung, Chan Kwon, Kim, Bo Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Endocrine Society 01.06.2021; 대한내분비학회
• Subjects: Adult; carcinoma; Carcinoma, Papillary - pathology; Carcinoma, Papillary - surgery; Humans; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - surgery; Original; papillary; prevalence; prognosis; recurrence; Retrospective Studies; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary - surgery; thyroid neoplasms; Thyroid Neoplasms - pathology; 내과학; Carcinoma, papillary; Thyroid neoplasms; Recurrence; Prevalence; Prognosis
• ISSN: 2093-596X; 2093-5978; 2093-5978
• DOI: 10.3803/EnM.2021.974

We aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological features and biological behaviors of Korean thyroid cancer patients with rare variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) to address the ambiguity regarding the prognostic consequences of these variants. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 5,496 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for PTC, between January and December 2012, in nine tertiary hospitals. Rare PTC variants included tall cell (TCV), columnar cell (CCV), diffuse sclerosing (DSV), cribriform-morular (CMV), solid (SV), hobnail, and Warthin-like variants. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was defined as the time from the date of thyroidectomy until recurrence. Rare variants accounted for 1.1% (n=63) of the PTC patients; with 0.9% TCV, 0.02% CCV, 0.1% DSV, 0.1% CMV, and 0.1% SV. The mean age of patients and primary tumor size were 42.1±13.1 years and 1.3±0.9 cm, respectively. Extrathyroidal extension and cervical lymph node metastasis were observed in 38 (60.3%) and 37 (58.7%) patients, respectively. Ultrasonographic findings revealed typical malignant features in most cases. During a median follow-up of 7 years, 6.3% of patients experienced a locoregional recurrence. The 5-year RFS rates were 71.4% in patients with DSV or SV, 95.9% for TCV, or CCV, and 100% for other variants. DSV emerged an independent risk factor associated with shorter RFS. In this multicenter Korean cohort, rare variants accounted for 1.1% of all PTC cases, with TCV being the most frequent subtype. DSV emerged as a significant prognostic factor for RFS.